


Single Parenting is Hard

by AcesOfSpade



Category: X-Men (Movieverse), X-Men - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Still Have Powers, Bullying, Charles Xavier has a Ph.D in Adorable, Erik is Crushing Harder than a 12-year Old Girl, M/M, Single dad erik, Slow Build, dadneto, teacher charles
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-20
Updated: 2016-10-28
Packaged: 2018-08-23 16:01:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,850
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8333716
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AcesOfSpade/pseuds/AcesOfSpade
Summary: Erik Lehnsherr's wife Magda died six months after the birth of the twins, leaving Erik on his own to raise three kids. Fast-forward 15 years, and he thinks he's doing pretty okay. Well, as okay as he can be when high school kids are harassing his oldest daughter, his only son has severe ADHD, and his youngest daughter is depressed.
Charles Xavier is a high school science teacher. He also happens to be Erik's best friend. Of course, Erik's kids don't know that, because how weird would it be to find out your Dad and your science teacher were best friends?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote about 85% of this at school. Oops. This is just part one. I think there might be a few more after this. Let's hope I finish it.

As a single father of three, Erik Lehnsherr had too much on his plate. Balancing work, getting the kids to school, and getting the kids to things they did after school, Erik was left with very little time to himself. When he did get time to himself, he spent it worrying about the kids and cleaning the house. Nobody else would, so it was up to Erik. Anya helped sometimes, but after four dance classes a week, she was usually too tired or sore to help. Wanda would also try to help, but she got frustrated easily, so Erik sent her off to calm down. Pietro hated doing chores, and avoided them at all costs unless he wanted something.

 

Sometimes, Erik let his mind wander to thoughts of finding someone to help him raise the kids, but he dashed the thoughts away. He didn’t have enough to hire a babysitter, and besides, the kids didn’t like strangers in the house. He had decided long ago, when Magda died, that he probably wouldn’t find someone new to settle down with. The possibility existed, sure, but he didn’t think he’d ever act on it, for the kids’ sake.

 

On one of those rare days where everyone was home and not fighting, Pietro was sitting at the kitchen table making an attempt at his science homework. He didn’t understand a word of it, and his foot was tapping rapidly on the floor in frustration. Erik went over to him, pulling up a chair next to his son with a small frown on his face.

 

“Having trouble?” Erik asked softly. Pietro usually came to ask for help with his homework, so something else must have been bothering him on top of his homework.

 

Pietro looked up from his page with a nod, a look of frustration on his face to match his tapping foot. “I can’t figure it out, Papa,” he mumbled, eyes downcast. “It wasn’t even a hard lesson!”

 

Erik placed a hand on Pietro’s shoulder to calm him down. “I know you know what you’re doing in science class,” he reminded him. “Is something else bothering you? You know what happens with your ADHD when something is bothering you.”

 

Pietro nodded quietly, but didn’t speak. His ADHD was pretty bad to begin with, but when something was bothering him, his mind fixated on that thing, and that thing alone. He couldn’t focus his attention on anything else, especially not his homework.

 

“What’s bothering you?” Erik prompted.

 

Pietro sighed, looking down at his homework on the table. “One of the kids in my math class doesn’t like Anya,” he muttered quietly, almost quiet enough for Erik not to hear. He did hear though, and it brought a frown to his face.

 

“I can see why that’s bothering you,” Erik nodded. “What did the kid say?” Anya was his oldest daughter. If someone at the kids’ school was being rude in regards to her, Erik wouldn’t be happy.

 

“He said that Anya is too stuck up for her own good,” Pietro said, looking back up. “Said she sucks up too much to the teachers, and that she would sleep with any guy who looked her way that was halfway attractive.” As Pietro spoke, his words got angrier and more annoyed. Anya had only ever been in one relationship, and that was when she was in grade nine. Now, she was in grade 12, and she’d been single and unattached since.

 

Erik’s small frown deepened, his brows creasing. “Do you know why he’d say that?”

 

Pietro shrugged. “Didn’t tell me,” he said honestly. “Just said he didn’t like her, right to my face. Who goes up to someone and complains about that person’s sister to their face? What kind of person does that?”

 

“I don’t know,” Erik sighed. “Do you know his name?”

 

Pietro wanted to lie, say he didn’t to protect the kid from Erik’s parental wrath, but it was inevitable. “His name’s Logan Marks,” he muttered. “He thinks he has every right to trash talk anyone he wants because he’s on the football team and the baseball team.”

 

“That’s not right,” Erik muttered. “Nobody has any right to do that, least of all a jock. Have you told a teacher?”

 

“My science teacher,” Pietro nodded. “He said he’d watch out for Logan in his class, try to see if he does the same with anyone else.”

 

“Mr. Xavier is a good man,” Erik commented. “I know he’ll be able to help.” The kids didn’t remember, but Charles Xavier had been Erik’s best friend since before Anya was born. He was around when the kids were little, but after Magda died, Erik moved away. They reconnected when Anya started high school, bringing home stories her science teacher had told her class. Erik recognized some of them, having been a part of them, and scheduled a ‘private meeting’ with the teacher to ‘discuss Anya’s progress’. It resulted in catching up in Charles’ science lab at the school for hours, reminding them why they were best friends in the first place. Both decided it would be weird to bring up their friendship to Erik’s kids, so they had no idea.

 

“I know,” Pietro nodded. “He kind of reminds me of you,” he added, wanting to change the subject.

 

“Me? How?” Erik frowned. For as long as he had known Charles Xavier, the two had been near polar opposites.

 

“You’re both single parents, for one,” Pietro said. “You both also know a whole bunch about genetics and genetic mutations. And you’re both mutants.”

 

Erik frowned ever-so-slightly. Charles had children? He’d never mentioned that to Erik. Pushing the weird tightening in his chest away, he focused on Pietro. “I see,” he mused, forcing a small smile. “Well, what’s your homework?” he asked, his turn to change the subject.

 

“Mr. Xavier has us answering textbook questions about genetic mutations,” Pietro explained, tapping the first question on the page.

 

Erik nodded. “Alright, let’s figure this out.”

 

For the next hour, Erik helped Pietro figure out his homework questions. Pietro got the hang of it pretty easily, but he still wanted Erik there, just in case he needed more help.

 

During that hour, Wanda and Anya had wandered into the kitchen from the living room, hoping to find something to snack on while they watched a movie. Anya didn’t notice the sidelong glance Erik gave her as she passed, or the sad look in his eyes. When Anya did glance over, Erik just shook his head softly and went back to helping Pietro.

 

At the end of the week, Erik was sitting at work when he received a phone call from the kids’ school. He sighed as he listened to the principal, heading to his boss’ office to tell her he needed to go. She just nodded in understanding, shooing him off.

 

When Erik got to the school, he walked the familiar path to the principal’s office. He was let in by the secretary, lead to the room where Pietro was being held. Erik sat next to his son with a shake of his head, sighing. It wasn’t disapproval, it was simply him not knowing how to handle his only son.

 

Just as Erik sat down, the principal walked into the office with a scowl on his face. The principal was a tall, imposing man who always dressed in suits. Most of the students were scared of him, but Pietro was indifferent. He’d been in this office too many times to be scared of him.

 

“Mr. Lehnsherr,” the principal nodded stiffly, sitting at his desk.

 

“Mr. Miller,” Erik nodded back, just as stiffly. “What are you accusing my son of this time?” he asked coldly. Most of the accusations from the principal, or other staff members, in regards to Pietro were wrong. It just seemed to be that the staff didn’t like Pietro.

 

Mr. Miller cleared his throat before he spoke, glaring at Erik. “Your son was seen punching Logan Marks in the face. The boy has a broken nose.”

 

Erik tried not to let the smug satisfaction he was feeling show. “When did this happen?” he asked.

 

“During their lunch period,” Mr. Miller said, looking over at Pietro. “Pietro, do you have anything to say for yourself?”

 

“Yeah,” Pietro nodded. “He deserved it.”

 

Erik frowned slightly at the boldness of Pietro’s statement, tilting his head curiously.

 

Mr. Miller blinked, frowning. “Why did he deserve it?”

 

“He called my sister a slut,” Pietro shrugged, almost casually. “Among other things. It’s been happening for weeks. I finally had enough of him.”

 

Erik let a proud smirk settle on his face. Above all else, Pietro valued his sisters. Anya was his older sister, the one who was always looking out for him. It must’ve been a moment of pride for Pietro to be able to look out for Anya this time.

 

“Regardless of Mr. Marks’ past actions, which I was not informed of, you physically assaulted another student. You have been give a two-day suspension, starting tomorrow. However, you are not to return to class. Collect your things from your locker and go home with your father.”

 

Pietro nodded, standing up. Erik did the same, nodding farewell to Mr. Miller. The two made their way out of the office and to Pietro’s locker on the second floor. Pietro collected his books and backpack, shoving his books in his bag as he locked his locker.

 

“Hey Papa, you’re not mad, are you?” he asked softly, slinging his bag over his shoulder and heading back downstairs.

 

“I should be, but I’m not,” Erik shook his head. “You were defending your sister.”

 

Pietro nodded, a small smile on his face. Once they were outside, Erik pressed the button on his key to unlock his car, and Pietro sped over in a blur of silver to take the shotgun seat. Erik chuckled fondly, shaking his head. By the time he got to the car, Pietro was sitting in the shotgun seat, his backpack thrown in the back seat.

 

The drive home was far from quiet. Pietro was singing along to the radio, tapping his fingers on his leg to the beat. Whenever a sad song came on, he just changed the station to something that was happy, and went right back to singing.

 

When they got home, Pietro raced up to his bedroom with his backpack, hanging it on the back of his desk chair and rifling through it for his phone. Flopping down on his bed, he started texting Anya.

 

_P: You should be proud of me, big sis_

 

_A: What did you do, Pietro?_

 

_P: I punched a kid in the face for you_

 

_A: Which kid, and why was it for me?_

 

_P: Logan Marks. He’s been ragging on you for weeks. Finally got sick of him, so I broke his nose_

 

_A: Asshole. Point him out to me tomorrow so I can talk to him_

 

_P: Not tomorrow. Got a two-day suspension_

 

_A: Genius -_-_

 

_P: I know :p_

 

Pietro tucked his phone into his pocket and grabbed his science homework from his backpack. Might as well get a head start on that so it was done.

 

Erik, meanwhile, was down in the living room. He had the vacuum cleaner out, cleaning the carpet as he thought. He was thinking about his kids, specifically Anya and Pietro. Anya had always been the target of bullies for whatever reason, and Pietro was usually in trouble. Wanda was the only one of the three who didn’t attract attention, but that was because she was so quiet she very rarely spoke to people. Anya tried to be friendly, but was shot down and bullied. Pietro made friends easily, and somehow managed to keep all of them. Erik suspected it was because he was a ‘rebel’, always in detention for something or another.

 

Anya’s life as a bully-target started when she was in the third grade. She had brought her prized teddy bear to school after a rough morning at home. One of the kids in her class thought it was childish of her, and started calling her a baby for the rest of the year. The next year, she tried to perform in front of the school during the talent show, but she’d gotten so nervous she threw up on stage. That stayed with her for the rest of elementary school, and a little ways into high school. In grade nine, she developed a reputation as a teacher’s pet just because she wanted to be a decent person to the teachers and treat them like anyone else. The student body claimed her stuck-up in response to her confidence in her intelligence, saying she liked to brag about how smart she was. Later in grade nine, she was asked out by one of the forwards on the school’s hockey team, and the two were together for about four months before he broke it off. That was how she was labeled a slut, because everyone thought she was getting too friendly with other guys while she was with the forward. She took all of this in strides, keeping her head above the proverbial water and not stooping to the bullies’ levels.

 

On the other hand, Pietro had always been the ‘problem kid’. He was diagnosed with ADHD when he was just six years old, but it was realized that he was unable to take prescription medication due to allergic reactions to each one he was placed on. Because of the severity of his ADHD, he didn’t listen to his teachers, and would often talk back to them if they called him out on it. Around the fourth grade, he got his first detention for arguing with his teacher about his ability to focus. After that, he became the school ‘rebel’, acquiring more detentions than any other student by the time he graduated. High school hit, and Pietro used that reputation to make friends. He still talked back to his teachers, racking up detentions for disrupting class, among other things. He may only be in grade ten, but he was the kid at the school everyone was wary of. He liked to punch his way through his problems with other students, which scared people who didn’t know him. His friends knew he was just a puppy that attacked when provoked. He wasn’t a bad guy, he just had bad judgment.

 

Erik knew how to help Anya, having been through something similar back in Germany when he was in school. However, he had no idea what to do with Pietro. Most of Pietro’s fights were a direct result of his impulsive nature and protective instincts. Erik had never known anyone like that, so his ability to handle Pietro was touch and go at best. It had gotten worse when Pietro’s mutation manifested in the form of supersonic speed, which he used liberally to impress people.

 

Without realizing it, Erik had spent the rest of the day vacuuming the carpet. Wanda had to go up to him in his daze-like state to turn off the vacuum and drag him out of it.

 

Erik shook his head to bring himself back to reality, smiling softly at Wanda. “How was school?” he asked, distracting himself from his thoughts.

 

“It was great!” Wanda beamed, lighting up eagerly as she told Erik about her day. Apparently, she was sculpting in art class, and she chose to make four small ones for her assignment to represent the four of them as a family. In drama class, they were doing stage fighting, and she seemed pretty excited about that. She seemed to have had a better day than Anya, who had been yelled at in the halls no less than four times regarding her telling her friend about the score she’d gotten on her calculus test.

 

After putting away the vacuum, Erik went up to check on Pietro. He’d been up there since they got home, and he wasn’t usually this quiet.

 

Knocking on Pietro’s door, Erik didn’t get a response. Frowning, he opened the door and peeked in. What he saw was a small ball on the bed that was Pietro, fast asleep with his science homework still open on his desk. Erik chuckled softly, grabbing Pietro’s blanket off the ground and placed it over him before backing out of the room.

 

Back downstairs, Anya had begun her homework at the kitchen table, tapping her pencil on her notebook as she read through the questions. Wanda was curled up on the couch with her sketchbook, working on the plans for her sculptures. Erik smiled fondly when he caught sight of his daughters, heading for the fridge to grab some juice.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A month later, and something happens with Wanda that leads to Erik agreeing to invite his best friend over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here's chapter two. I don't really have much to say about it.

A month went by without another incident at the school. It wasn’t a month without incident at home however, because there were always incidents at home.

 

A week after Pietro went back to school after his suspension, Wanda refused to get out of bed to catch the bus. Luckily, it was Erik’s day off, so he was able to sit with her while Anya and Pietro left that morning. He sat on the edge of her bed as she sat against her pillows, looking as if she was going to cry.

 

“Wanda, schatz, what’s wrong?” Erik asked softly, a frown on his face.

 

“I don’t know, Papa,” Wanda said quietly, looking down at her hands. “I just… don’t want to get out of bed.”

 

Erik’s frown deepened slightly. “Is something happening at school?” he prompted gently.

 

“No,” Wanda shook her head, biting her lip. “I honestly don’t know.” There were tears brimming in her blue eyes, her eyes closing in an attempt to stop them from falling.

 

Erik brushed a hand over Wanda’s cheek, prompting her to look up at him. “We’ll figure this out, schatz,” he promised.

 

Wanda nodded wordlessly, surging forward to hug Erik tightly. In her mind, she had the best father she could possibly have. He never forced her to do anything, he made sure she was always okay, and he gave the best hugs. In her books, he was perfect.

 

Erik hugged back, sighing softly. His one goal as a parent was to make sure his kids were safe, healthy, and just generally alright. It was a pretty lofty goal, but he did his best, especially with Wanda. With her depression, she was unpredictable sometimes, and it was hard to keep up.

 

When Wanda pulled out of the hug, she smiled softly at Erik. “Want to make waffles?” she asked. She and Erik sometimes made waffles together, which always managed to cheer her up.

 

Erik smiled, kissing the top of Wanda’s head. “Of course,” he nodded, standing up and offering Wanda his hand. She took it, pulling herself off the bed and adjusting her nightgown. Dropping Erik’s hand, she headed for the kitchen. She hated staying home form school, but she had a sinking feeling that if she went to school, her mutation would flare up and it wouldn’t be pretty.

 

After they made and ate their waffles, Erik and Wanda settled on the couch to talk. They weren’t talking about that morning. They were talking about nothing in particular, really. At some point, the topic of best friends came up. Wanda told Erik about her best friend, Jonas, and asked if Erik had one when he was her age.

 

“He’s still my best friend,” Erik said with a fond smile.

 

“He is?” Wanda asked, tilting her head curiously. “You don’t really talk about your friends. You said most of them were back in Germany.”

 

“Well, most of them are,” Erik nodded. “But my best friend is here. I met him when I moved here, back when I was a little younger than you are now.”

 

“Tell me about him?” Wanda requested, wanting to know more about her Papa’s friends.

 

“Well, what is there to say?” Erik mused. “It could be said that he is my polar opposite, yet we balance each other out. He is the only person, other than you kids, that can calm me down when I get worked up. We used to play chess all the time, and neither of us won more than the other. Intellectual equals, we are.”

 

Wanda listened to Erik speak with a small, knowing smile. She may only be fifteen, but she had watched enough romantic comedy movies to know when someone had it bad. Her father had it bad for his best friend, it seemed, and Wanda found it adorable.

 

“What’s his name?” Wanda asked curiously, curious as to whether or not she knew him. She knew a few of her Papa’s friends, but didn’t recall having met one he called his ‘best friend’.

 

“Charles,” Erik told her. “But that’s all you’re getting,” he chuckled, poking her nose. Didn’t need her knowing that he was talking about her science teacher.

 

“Charles,” Wanda repeated, trying to figure out why the name sounded familiar coming from Papa’s mouth.

 

Eventually, Anya and Pietro got home from school. By then, Erik had gotten up off the couch to check on the laundry, leaving Wanda alone on the couch. Anya noticed the pensive look on her sister’s face and went over to her, sitting next to her.

 

“What’s got you thinking, Red?” Anya asked, tilting her head curiously.

 

“Papa,” Wanda told her. “We were talking about best friends today,” she stated before leaning in closer to Anya’s ear. “I think Papa is in love with his best friend,” she whispered, using her hand to block her voice from reaching Pietro.

 

Anya blinked, recoiling slightly. “Are you sure?” she frowned. “What’s her name?”

 

“ _His_ name is Charles,” Wanda said, making sure to emphasize the fact that it was a man. Wanda had nothing against those kinds of people, seeing as Pietro was bi, but it felt a little weird knowing her Papa was the same way, whether he knew it or not.

 

Anya frowned. Her mind, for some reason, supplied her with the image of a man with bright blue eyes and brown hair, smiling as he played chess with Papa. She shook the memory away, not sure where it had come from. “Charles, huh?” she muttered. “We should get Papa to invite him over so we can meet him. I like meeting his friends,” she decided. One of the friends Anya had met when she was younger was a curious man named Azazel, a mutant like Erik. He looked like the Devil himself, and spoke with a Caribbean accent. Another of Papa’s friends was Emma Frost, a coworker of his. She could turn herself into diamond, with Anya thought was amazing.

 

“We should,” Wanda nodded in agreement. “The way Papa talked about him… I think he really likes him.”

 

“Anyone that makes Papa happy, I gotta meet,” Anya commented, getting up to go talk to Papa.

 

Anya found him in the laundry room, starting a load of bed sheets. She leaned against the door frame, arms crossed over her chest and ankles crossed.

 

Erik happened to look up and spot Anya as he was grabbing the basket of clothes that had just come out of the dryer. “Anya,” he nodded with a smile. “Something wrong? You never come down here.”

 

Anya shrugged, playing innocent. “Can’t I come see you?” she said lightly.

 

“Alright, now I know you want something,” Erik sighed. “I don’t get paid until next week,” he reminded her.

 

“Oh, I don’t want money,” Anya shook her head. “Wanda told me about your friend.”

 

Erik frowned slightly before he realized who she meant. “What about him?” He could feel his heartbeat pick up ever-so-slightly, as if he were nervous.

 

“Maybe you should invite him over,” Anya said casually. “I like meeting your friends, and I know Pietro loves new people.”

 

Erik sighed. He knew it would be inevitable, the kids wanting to meet Charles. Of course, they already knew him, but that was beside the point. “I will talk to him about it,” he said. Charles had always adored the kids, and was glad he could keep track of them at school.

 

Anya grinned. “Awesome!”

 

Erik shook his head with a fond smile. “Go make sure Pietro doesn’t destroy anything. I have laundry to finish,” he told her, making a shooing motion with his hand.

 

Anya scurried off upstairs, a grin on her face. As she left, Erik realized he had no way to get out of this. He had to face the reactions of the kids when they realized just who his best friend was.


	3. Chapter 3

Charles was all too happy to come for a visit. He had wanted to see Erik with the kids since Anya walked into his science class back in her freshman year and introduced herself to the class. She was so much like her father it made Charles nostalgic for his teenage years with Erik when he first moved from Germany, the time when everything was simple.

 

It happened that Saturday. Erik had the kids make sure they would behave themselves, not that he was concerned. He was more concerned about his own behaviour. It had been a while since he’d gotten to spend time with Charles for more than a parent-teacher interview or a quick catch up over coffee. If he spent too much time in front of the mirror dealing with his usually messy hair, that was his own business.

 

Charles had said he was bringing someone with him, a boy named David. Erik had a sinking feeling that was the child Pietro had mentioned, the one that Charles was parenting on his own. Why the idea of Charles with children made Erik feel… _something_ , he wasn’t entirely sure.

 

When Erik heard the knock on the door, he tried not to seem overly excited when he answered it. He must’ve failed, because Charles just chuckled when he saw the look on Erik’s face.

 

There was a boy of about 12 standing behind Charles, peeking around his shoulder. He had sandy blonde hair and Charles’ piercing blue eyes, though he looked anxious and scared. He gripped Charles’ wrists tightly, bouncing on the balls of his feet.

 

“Hello, Erik,” Charles smiled. “It’s nice to see that you moved back into your old place,” he mused.

 

“Mama made sure no one bought it,” Erik chuckled fondly. “She stayed here for a while, until I thought I was ready to move back.”

 

“That sounds like something she would do,” Charles chuckled, shaking his head slightly. “Your mother was a wonderful lady.”

 

Erik stepped aside, motioning for Charles and his son to come inside. Once they were in, the two instinctively took off their shoes. The boy stayed close to Charles’ side, still bouncing on the balls of his feet.

 

“So, is this David?” Erik asked, eyes darting to the boy. He looked so much like Charles, but with lighter hair and more rounded features.

 

Charles nodded. “He doesn’t like new people, but I couldn’t leave him alone. He doesn’t like when I leave more than he doesn’t like new people.”

 

Erik nodded in understanding, turning to David. “Hey, would you like to meet my kids?” he asked gently. When David nodded, he offered the boy his hand so he could lead him to the living room. Charles followed behind, marveling at how similar the house was now compared to the last time he’d been there, nearly 16 years prior.

 

In the living room, Erik’s kids were sitting on various pieces of furniture. The twins were on the couch, while Anya was lying on the coffee table. Whatever conversation they were having was abruptly halted when they saw Erik, Charles, and David. Anya let out a small noise of surprise, her blue eyes widening.

 

“Mr. Xavier?” she squeaked, scrambling up to a sitting position as her gaze flicked to her Papa.

 

The twins looked over when they heard Anya, identical frowns on their faces. Neither made a comment, however, waiting for Erik to explain.

 

“Hello, Anya,” Charles waved, seeming relaxed in a way he wasn’t at school.

 

“Your best friend is our _science teacher_?” Anya asked Erik, eyes wide.

 

“He has been since long before you were born,” Erik nodded. “It’s been what, close to thirty years now?” he mused, looking over at Charles.

 

“I believe it has,” Charles nodded in agreement.

 

“But… but how?” Anya muttered.

 

“We met when I moved here,” Erik answered. “He volunteered to show me around the school. After everything I’d been through in Germany, he was the nicest person I had met aside from my Mama.”

 

Wanda smiled softly, glancing back at Anya with a look that said ‘see, I told you so’. Anya brushed it off with a shrug.

 

Pietro, not knowing what Wanda and Anya were eye-talking about, turned to David. The kid looked anxious and petrified, and Pietro wanted to make him feel better.

 

“Hey, buddy,” Pietro said quietly, gesturing for David to come sit with him. The younger boy cautiously approached, a look of interest in his eyes. Pietro had oddly coloured hair and eyes to match. How was that possible?

 

The younger boy sat next to Pietro, but said nothing. He simply stared at him curiously, swinging his feet.

 

Charles watched the two boys with a small smile. David seemed to be intrigued by Pietro, and when David found something intriguing, he became a little more social.

 

Erik was watching the same thing, though he was having different thoughts. He was thinking about how much David was like Charles when the two first met: shy, quiet, and curious. David was a miniature Charles in everything but looks, and the idea made Erik’s chest tighten for some reason.

 

“Hey buddy, do you like Pokemon?” Wanda asked, having an idea.

 

“Yeah!” David said excitedly.

 

“Well, would you like to help me and my siblings find some in the neighbourhood?” Wanda asked, glancing over at both adults for permission. She received two nods, which made her smile.

 

David nodded eagerly, turning to Charles. “Can I, Daddy?” he asked, giving Charles his best puppy dog eyes.

 

“Of course, David,” Charles chuckled, pulling his own phone out of his pocket for David to use. “Why don’t you catch me some too?” he suggested, unlocking it and handing the phone to David.

 

David was bouncing excitedly now, surging forward to give Charles a quick hug. In that time, the three Lehnsherr kids stood and located their own phones.

 

“We’ll have him back soon,” Anya assured them, though there was a smirk on her face that let Wanda know Anya knew what she wanted to happen.

 

“Just don’t let him wander off,” Charles requested. “He gets distracted by what he’s trying to find and wanders away.”

 

“I’ll make sure he doesn’t,” Pietro promised. “If he gets too far, I can get him back in a snap.”

 

David was already waiting by the door, having put his shoes back on quickly. Anya already had a pair on, not usually taking them off, but the twins had to get theirs on. Once everyone had shoes on, the headed out. As they left, Charles heard a question from David about what team the other three had picked, and a rousing cheer when all three responded with ‘Instinct’.

 

Once the children were gone, Erik and Charles sat on the couch. There was very little space between them, despite it being a rather large couch.

 

“It seems my girls wanted to get us alone,” Erik joked, a small smile on his face.

 

“Apparently,” Charles chuckled. They both lapsed into silence for a while, not knowing what to say.

 

Charles took the time to properly take in Erik’s appearance. He hadn’t properly done so in quite a while, and actually doing it now revealed just how old his friend was getting. His coppery hair was sprinkled with silver, his bright eyes were starting to dim. His age was catching up to him, but slowly. He was still as handsome as ever, just with more… quirks.

 

Erik found himself doing the same thing as Charles, which is to say he gave Charles a lingering once-over. Charles’ chocolate brown hair seemed to be thinning as if he were slowly going bald, there were the barest traces of wrinkles on his face. Nothing could change how beautiful Erik thought Charles was though, not even wrinkles.

 

They were both quiet for a while, not knowing what to talk about. Finally, Charles cleared his throat awkwardly to get Erik’s attention.

 

“How have you been?” he asked.

 

“Tired,” Erik admitted. “Three kids and a job is taxing.”

 

“I wish I could help, old friend,” Charles sighed, placing a hand on Erik’s knee.

 

“You never told me you had a son,” Erik commented, changing the topic.

 

Charles looked away, a very faint blush on his cheeks. “I didn’t know how to bring it up,” he said quietly. “David’s mother… she was very adamant that I tell no one about him.”

 

“Why?” Erik frowned. What kind of mother did that to her son?

 

“She was a diplomat,” Charles explained. “She thought that if her superiors knew she had a child, they would take away her position. She was very work-oriented.”

 

“That doesn’t seem right,” Erik muttered. “She kept your son a secret to keep her job?” It sounded stupid, especially out loud.

 

Charles nodded. “Gabrielle had a very… skewed sense of morality. Fascinating woman, but very skewed.”

 

“How did the two of you meet?” Erik asked, wanting to know more.

 

“She worked with my step-father for a few months,” Charles said. “Kurt had her doing odd jobs for pay so she could pay for school. As little time as I spend with Kurt, I was visiting my mother when I met her.”

 

“I see,” Erik nodded. “How long ago did you meet?”

 

“Not long after you moved away,” Charles said softly. “Maybe a year after. We were friends before David was conceived, with no intention of entering a relationship.”

 

“But then how was David conceived?” Erik frowned.

 

“We were celebrating the end of her year at university, and we both had too much to drink,” Charles said. What he wouldn’t tell Erik was that the celebration also coincided with the anniversary of the day Erik left town, not that Charles paid attention. (Of course he did; he missed Erik)

 

Erik nodded, and the two slipped into silence again. The silence was broken by the sound of the front door opening and four sets of shoes being taken off. The kids shuffled into the living room, David grinning widely.

 

“Daddy, look!” he said happily, running over to Charles. “I caught a Pikachu!”

 

“That’s wonderful, David,” Charles smiled, taking his phone from David so he could look at the Pokemon. “Oh, you named him Flash? That’s nice.”

 

David nodded excitedly. “I also got a Magnamite! And Wanda caught a Venomoth!”

 

Erik couldn’t help but smile at David’s enthusiasm. He seemed so shy when he’d arrived, but now that he was talking about something he was evidently passionate about.

 

“Would you four like some lemonade?” Erik asked. “It’s pretty warm outside.”

 

“I got it, Papa,” Pietro offered, speeding off to the kitchen in a silver blur. He walked back at normal speed with the pitcher of lemonade and a stack of cups, not wanting to spill anything. He placed everything on the coffee table, grabbing a cup for himself and pouring some lemonade.


	4. Chapter 4

Charles and David quickly became a constant fixture in the Lehnsherr family’s life. They came over at least once a week, and the Lehnsherr kids always found something fun to do with David to bring him out of his shell. Whether they went out to look for Pokemon, or played a board game in the basement, the older kids were slowly gaining David’s trust and affection.

 

Of course, when you get familiar with someone, even an adult, there’s that inclination to call them by their first name. Around the house, the twins called him Charles, but they were still in his science class, and they very nearly called him Charles on numerous occasions.

 

On one occasion, the twins had arrived early to class to talk to Charles, as they were in his homeroom class. They sat in the front row, right in front of Charles’ lab bench, so they set their books on the desks and started chatting with the teacher.

 

“How’s David?” Wanda asked, swinging her legs aimlessly under the desk. “He sounded like he was sick last weekend.”

 

“He’s fine,” Charles assured her. “Just a little cold. He was over it by Tuesday.”

 

“That’s good,” Wanda smiled. “We need him on Sunday for our ping-pong tournament,” she grinned. The kids had planned a ping-pong tournament for that weekend, a two-on-two game to see which of them was the best player.

 

“He can’t wait,” Charles chuckled. “He thinks he’s going to win.”

 

Pietro rolled his eyes teasingly. “He’s got some competition then,” he commented. “I can play ping-pong by myself.”

 

As they talked, the three didn’t notice another student enter the classroom and sit at her desk in the back. She stayed as silent as she could, listening intently.

 

“How’s Erik?” Charles asked once the topic of ping-pong changed. “Still trying to figure out that riddle?”

 

Wanda nodded. “You’ve got him stumped, Charles,” she mused. “It’s been two weeks, and he refuses to Google the answer.”

 

“Ah yes, he’s always been stubborn like that,” Charles chuckled fondly.

 

“That’s where this one gets it from,” Wanda giggled, jerking her thumb in Pietro’s direction. Her twin just huffed playfully, rolling his eyes.

 

Just as Charles went to respond, the bell rang to tell students to head to their homeroom. More students began filing into the science lab, talking among themselves as they sat at their desks.

 

Charles began his lesson after the announcements, talking about light refraction for most of the class. When class ended, Charles bid his students a good day and grabbed his notes for his second period biology class.

 

By lunch that day, a good portion of the students were giving the twins, and subsequently Anya, weird looks. The Lehnsherr kids had no idea what was going on, just ignoring the weird looks and going about their usual school routines. When they finally sat down for lunch at their usual table, they were approached by the student who’d overheard the twins and Charles that morning.

 

“So...” the girl muttered. “How’d you get so friendly with Mr. Xavier?” she asked innocently. “You called him by his first name this morning, and he didn’t reprimand you.”

 

“You heard that?” Pietro frowned, raising an eyebrow. He hadn’t noticed anyone else in the classroom.

 

The girl nodded, but didn’t speak. She just gave an expectant look, waiting for an answer.

 

“Mr. Xavier is a good friend of our Papa’s,” Wanda explained. “They’ve been best friends since high school, and they recently reconnected. Nothing more,” she added, almost challengingly.

 

“Really?” the girl raised an eyebrow. “So that would make your father the Erik he mentioned?”

 

Pietro nodded. “Exactly.”

 

As if she had the answers she wanted, the girl scurried off to her own table to gossip to her friends. Once she was gone, Pietro scoffed and rolled his eyes.

 

“Nosy bitch,” he muttered in annoyance.

 

The rest of the day went by with little incident, save a few more weird looks and whispers behind their backs. By the time they got home, no one else had approached them to ask weird questions.

 

Once at home, Pietro threw his backpack in the closet and toed off his shoes. He then went to the kitchen, pouring himself a large glass of juice. Wanda and Anya just shook their heads, setting their homework on the kitchen table so they could work on it. Erik would be home from work in about an hour, meaning they had to look productive when he did. He might’ve been a pretty chill Dad, but he was pretty strict when it came to homework.

 

When Erik did get home, he found his children around the table doing their homework, which brought a small smile to his face. He admired the fact that his children at least pretended to do their homework when he got home, since they knew how important he thought homework was.

 

Placing his keys in the dish by the door, Erik toed off his boots and headed for the kitchen as quietly as he could. When Wanda spotted him, she stood and ran over to him so she could give him a hug like she always did. She was in high school, but some things she did when she was younger stuck around as habits, the daily hugs being one of them.

 

“How was school, schatz?” Erik chuckled once she pulled away and went back to her homework.

 

Wanda grinned, launching into a story of her day, including the girl who had showed up in science early that asked about Charles. That part made Erik frown, but he didn’t comment on it. He’d wait to see how it played out before he brought it up as a topic of discussion.


End file.
